The Evil Within: Corruption
by DemonFireX
Summary: Being a fanfiction writer, I'm used to my fair share of the unusual. But when I find myself trapped in a world filled with nightmares and horrors beyond my recognition it's time to nut up if I'm to have any hope for survival and to see my family again. Teaming up with a gruff Detective with a rough past we'll need to work together in order to stand against evil itself. Self-Insert.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hay guys. I know I've got a lot of open stories going on right now, but personally, I've done so many OC inserts in my time on this site that I believed that it was time to make a self insert. And if you read the category for this particular story, then you know for a fact that this is one that has yet to be done.**

**That's right ladies and gents, I'm attempting the very first Evil Within Self Insert! Granted, I'm doing this as I'm playing the game itself, so I'll right as I uncover more the story. And with what I have seen and learned thus far, it deserves its place on this site.**

**For those that know me, they can expect a lot of shit to be coming my way so be ready for...for...sorry guys I'm feeling a bit off right now...my head won't stop spinning...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own...Evil...Within...**

_The brain is truely our greatest asset. Capable of untold things both great and devious._

_But it is also a source of great weakness. If one were to damage, tamper or destroy it in some way, then one's self is lost to the chaos that is insanity._

_Where the mind becomes unstable, and the body quickly following it. Allowing an individual to become dangerous beyond recognition if left untreated. A fate, that many consider worse than death itself._

_The human mind must bend and twist to handle the horrors of life itself._

_But at times, even the greatest and strongest of minds can bend so much that they snap in two..._

X

Given what has happened to me in the last year and a half, waking up with a headache has become so common that I barely even notice it any more. But in this instance, it felt as though someone had rammed a rusty, serrated dagger through my frontal lobe and was spinning it like a blender.

The attempt at opening my eyes was more taxing then is should have been as I tried to look around through my squinting lids. All I could see was white. White walls, white ceiling, white tiled floor. I also seemed to be laying on a bed with white sheets.

I sat up slowly, holding my head as it pulsed in disagreement with the movement as I tried to get a better look around. My vision slowly clearing as I blinked a few times. Seeing a window with bars on it in the wall behind me showing an overcast sky, a desk and a couple chairs and a lone door that looked to lead out.

"Where...?" I shook my head as I felt the ache start to fade. Looking at myself, I saw that I was still wearing the black t-shirt and jeans I had on before...before...I couldn't remember. The last day was nothing but a haze and the ache in my head started to come back the harder I tried to bring it up.

Had I gotten a head injury at some point? Was that why I couldn't remember what had happened before now? Wouldn't surprise me, if anything I'm a magnet for shit like this. And since this room looked like one you'd see in a hospital, it was a pretty safe bet.

Taking a deep breath, I swung my legs over the side of the bed. Resting my feet on the floor and slowly standing upright, using the post of the bed for support because of the brace that surrounded my right knee from my accident.

It still sucked that I wouldn't ever have full functionality of my right leg ever again. But after nearly a year in rehab I could at least walk, (limp), without too much help. That was better than what I had been expecting at least.

Satisfied that I wouldn't fall over, I began moving slowly toward the door. Better try and find a doctor, nurse, someone who could tell me what happened so I could call home. The last thing I could recall was heading out for the day leaving Meghan and Annie home. And I was pretty sure Meghan would have a fit if I didn't get ahold of her soon.

I doubt I did anything stupid to wind up here, given that Annie was born a few months ago and my disability I didn't want to risk anything happening to me. But that wouldn't stop my better half from giving me hell for worrying her like I did after the accident.

Took forever to break out of that depression when the doctor gave me the bad news about my leg.

Reaching the door, I tried the handle and found it unlocked. Pushing it open, I peered into the hallway outside and found that this place was indeed a hospital. Several gurneys and wheelchairs were in the corridor along with a few folders and papers scattered around.

"Jeez," I couldn't help but mutter as I slowly stepped out into the open. "Janitor's seriously suck at their job around here."

Being careful not to bump into anything, I began moving in the direction that I hoped led me to the front desk or a nurses station. My footsteps echoing off the quiet walls and throughout the corridor while the sounds of rain pelting the windows could be heard on the windows that lined the wall to my right making the environment just a bit creepy.

I shook my head, I'd been in hospitals in this kind of weather before. Nothing to be too concerned about. Though, the lack of staff in this place was a little disconcerning.

Rounding a corner at the end of the hall, I breathed easily when I found a nurses station a few feet away. "Finally." I moved slowly over to it and looked around. The main desk was cluttered, the computer was still on and the chair someone normally sat in was knocked over, but no sign of anyone.

"Hello?" I called out. "Anyone here? I could use some help." No one answered. Frusteration started to build up in my chest as I wondered what kind of dumb facility this was. My eyes locked on to a door that must have led to the office behind the desk on the left.

The door was open, and there seemed to be a light flickering on the inside from something.

Shrugging my shoulders, I moved behind the desk and approached the opening. Knocking on the doorframe before pushing it open. "Hay, is anyone home? I just woke up and I could use some..." My words died in my throat when my heart jumped into it.

It was an office, with a small bank of computer terminals on the desk against the far wall showing video feeds. And on the floor in the center of the room was the prone body of a nurse...

...laying in a pool of blood.

"SHIT!" I quickly moved in and dropped to the floor beside her. Ignoring the small prick of pain that went through my right kneecap as I checked her over. "Ma'am?! Ma'am can you hear me?!" I slowly flipped her over to check her pulse only to recoil back.

Her face was ashen white, frozen in an image of terror with a clean slice through the center of her throat where blood was still flowing freely.

My back hit the wall as sweat broke out on my forehead. She was dead. I just woke up no more than ten minutes ago and I was standing in a room with a dead body that looked recent. My stomach churning at the revelation as I swallowed the dry feeling in my throat.

A few seconds passed before my head snapped back to reality. Looking toward the desk with the monitors, I found a phone on the surface and nearly dove at it. I had to call the cops, anyone that could help.

Pressing the reciever was at my ear after almost dropping it twice, but there was no dial tone. "Dammit, no!" I growled tapping the buttons repeatedly hoping for a change only for nothing to happen. Sending a glare at the device that could have melted it, I tossed the reciever aside before looking down at the woman with sad eyes.

She didn't deserve to die, she probably had a family waiting for her to come home that would learn of what happened to her and be broken. The mere thought of it made me think about my own family. My mom, my brothers, my girlfriend and my daughter all flashed through my head.

I needed to get out of this place, find help and figure out what was going on. And given what I had seen so far, something bad went down here and there was no way of knowing where the one that could have done this could be right now. I needed to act fast.

Sending a small prayer to the nurse, I turned to leave when something caught my eye. One of the monitors showing a hallway somewhere close by flickered with movement and I couldn't help but move my face closer to it to get a better look.

The flicker happened again, a black shadow appearing at the far end of the corridor before it suddently appeared a few feet ahead. "The fuck?" I whispered as the shadow moved again. This time when it reappeared it revealed the form of a man, though given what I was seeing it was hard to call him that.

Through the black and white image, I could make out the figure wearing a dirty and torn white cloak with a hood pulled up over his head and a pair of ripped pants held up with rope and bare feet. His chest and face was exposed showing abraisons and what looked like stitched up surgical scars that weaved around like a road map.

My heart beat loudly in my chest as the man just stared straight head at something only he could see, before slowly turning his head and looking right at the camera. My blood freezing in my veins when the ghostly eyes seemed to leer through the image and right into my own.

The other montiors flicker and went off one after the other leaving the one I was looking at the only one active. But I paid it no mind. My pulse stuttering as I stared at the image, to afraid to even look away from those eyes before the man flickered again and vanished completel, the monitor dying a moment later showing my reflection. My own startled blue eyes looking back at me as I took a deep breath of air that I didn't even know I was holding.

What the hell was that? I wondered running a hand over my buzzcut head. I'd seen my fair share of paranormal shows but that was beyond messed up. This all couldn't be real, I had to be dreaming. At home in bed having a nightmare that I needed to wake up from.

But the small pain I had felt in my knee a moment ago put that thought to rest. And finding answers to something like that was the least of my worries.

Getting ahold of myself, I turned to head out of the office...stopping in my tracks and gasping as I looked at the same figure I had seen on the monitor. Now standing in the same room as me not even two meters away.

The man before me...had to be the most unsettling thing I had ever witnessed in my life. Being a fanfiction writer, I couldn't have possible come up with something like this on my own.

He looked like he did on the monitor, but the abraisions he had were red which contrasted greatly with his bone-white skin. The dark spots on his outfit were in fact dirt, but also had bright spots of blood on them making it look like he stepped out of a slaughter house.

And his eyes...a pair of ghostly white-blue that seemed to glow with something both sinister and damning. A souless gaze that had me almost frozen where I stood.

I could feel my fight or flight instincts starting to kick in. Plans for either fighting this guy or finding a way to escape coming to mind while clenching my fists slowly as I steeled myself. "Who...Who are you?" I asked, cursing myself for the shake in my voice.

The man said nothing. Just keeping his gaze on me like a mad scientist examining a lab specimen. The lack of answer made a slight burn of anger awaken in me. "What's going on around here?" I had to fight from looking at the body of the nurse between us, not wanting to take my eyes away from this guy for even a half-second.

Again, I received no answer. Gritting my teeth, my fear was forgotten as I took a slow step forward, "Answer me dammit! What is this place? What happened to the people-"

**"You shouldn't worry about the people in these halls."** the man's voice was monotone and sounded like gravel. Almost what death itself would sound like if it had a voice to speak with. For a moment I was struck back to silence as he spoke again. **"You should be more concerned, about the situation you now find yourself in."**

I took an involuntary step back, "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, sweat dripping down the back of my neck as I saw him reach into a pocket on the outside of his cloak, pulling out a blood soaked scalpel that he held tightly in his hand.

There was barely a heartbeat in time before he was suddently in front of me. His movement so fast it could have been a trick of the mind. But the cold, stone grip around my throat wasn't a trick. Nore the fact that I was slammed against the wall behind me and was raised up off the floor nearly a foot.

Gasping for air, I kicked hard at the man holding me there only for my feet to go straight through him. My hands grabbed at his arm and wrist trying to break his hold, but it felt as though I was attempting to fight off a statue as I was held firm with only one hand.

I wasn't weak by any stretch of the imagination. The constant exercises I went through had made me leaner than I was before. But right now I felt like and insect compared to what was happening now.

The man lifted his other hand that held the scalpel, holding it up to eye-level making my struggles stop almost completely. My eyes centered on the sharp blade an inch from my face as he slowly turned my head to the side. A moment passing before he moved it to the other side, something reflecting in his ghostly eyes before facing me forward again.

**"Interesting."** he said in the same tone as before. **"It seems that there's more here than I first thought."**

More sweat came down over my temples as he moved the blade from one of my eyes to the other, his own gaze not leaving mine as he did this. "W-What...What are...you?" I managed to gasp out while trying to break free from his grasp.

His lips curled up in a smile that had dread flooding through me. **"I am Ruvik...and your mind will soon belong to me."** He pulled back the scapel and stabbed it forward, the tip piercing the flesh between my eyes and making my vision go read.

A scream of agony froze in my throat as something resembling an electric current shot through me. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears as my vision flashed a few times before everything began fading to black.

My last waking throught being of those sinister eyes and disturbing grin of my attacker as I slipped from the world. Completely unaware that this would be my first step into a nightmare beyond my comprehension.

**A/N: _...(Ruvik let the unconscious form drop at his feet before turning and looking at the reader.) _"Sorry for the interruption. But young DemonFireX is busy now. Perhaps some of you would like to join him?" _(His eyes glowed a moment before he and the fanfiction writer vanished into thin air.)_**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

_**...Error...Connection with user lost...Please try again later...**_

Waking up a second time...was a little easier compared to the first. Though the feeling of my head being several sizes too big was rough as I came back to the world.

Blinking my eyes open, I tried to focus on my surroundings only to find myself dangling above the ground. My limp arms roughly half a foot from the metal floor below me with a tiny pool of dark red liquid reflecting in the dull light. A smell I couldn't really describe making my nose burn, something similar to roadkill on a hot day in July.

There was also music from somewhere in the room. A low pitch, opera like tone that echoed off the walls coming from somewhere behind where I was hanging.

Now fully awake, despite the blood rushing to my head, I spun in multiple directions as I tried to get my barrings with my upside-down position. The place looked like the inside of a prison. Stone walls and metal bars surrounded me along with other bodies hanging from the ceiling like I was.

Bile rising in my throat when I saw that the other people were in fact dead, various parts of their bodies removed and were already starting to decompose. Dark rivers of blood leaking from their forms and pooling on the floor below...which explained the smell that I could now identify as rot and decay. The humidity in the air making it worse and causing my eyes water from it.

The familiar feeling of dread and fear spread through me like a virus. How the hell did I get here? The last thing I remembered was that cloaked guy with the scalpel, he stabbed me between the eyes and then...nothing. Did he bring me here? And where the fuck was _here_ anyway? Because it sure as shit wasn't the hospital I was in before.

I began to twist in every which direction to see everything around me to either find out where I was or if there was a way to escape. There were bodies and parts everywhere. Some were even piled in a metal bin in the corner with blood pooling out and heading toward a drain that was in the center of the room. The music I was hearing came from a smaller room where I could make out a large table surrounded by faded light from nearby lamps.

Along with a wall that was lined with sharp, rusty instuments covered in blood making the situation practically scream 'horror movie'. And with everything I've just seen in the last few seconds alone, I had a feeling that I was fucked if I didn't work fast before whoever ran this place came back.

Swallowing back the vomit that threatened to come up a second time, and trying to my best to keep my mind focused while ignoring the corpses and the smells they gave off, I looked up toward the rope that had my sneakered feet bound to the ceiling. Taking a deep breath, I leaned back as far as I could before swinging my upper half upward, using my legs as hand-holds, being careful with my knee brace, before grabbing the knot that held the rope together.

It was strong, nylon if I wasn't mistaken. And the knot looked to have been done by an expert. And with my full weight baring down on the rope I couldn't untie it without some help. Twisting my head around, I began searching for someway to get free, maybe something to cut the rope with.

There was a loud bang from somewhere on the floor above. I quickly let go of my legs and swung upsidedown again, letting my arms dangle close to the floor and remaining motionless as the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard against the metal flooring.

Off to my left, I could hear the same steps coming down a flight of stairs before another door opened that I couldn't see. Deep grunts echoed out as the steps came closer, sweat starting to break out along my neck as I closed my eyes and pretended to still be unconscious while whoever it was that entered walked past me.

Cracking my right eye open a bit, I got a view of a hulk of a man with his back to me. Wearing a pair of blood soaked, worn jeans and heavy boots with a wife-beater that was covered in something I dare not think about. The skin of his bare arms and shoulders sporting multiple cuts and gashes scabbed over that stretched even along to his hands as he tied something to the ceiling above.

After a minute, he finished what he was doing before turning. Revealing a face that even a mother would find disturbing, covered in both burns and cuts with a metal mask/helmet surrounded his head with a plate covering his nose and mouth leaving his cold and vacant eyes exposed. He grunted before skulking out of sight toward the room I had seen with the table.

In his place, another man hung similar to me. Looking roughly in his late 30's, early 40's, wearing a pair of slacks and boots, a white collared shirt with a black vest over with along with an empty shoulder holster for a side arm. A badge on the holster's strap reflected in the faded light with 'Detective' easily readable.

His face had age to it with a five o'clock shadow, and his light-brown hair was styled in a way that you would definately see on those rough Detectives on a cop show or two. Though I barely had the time to make the comparison as he groaned and started to wake up himself.

Dark-green eyes opened and blinked before looking around blearily as he examined his own situation. "Where the hell-"

"Shh..." his eyes snapped my way when I signaled to be quiet. Snapping my eyes and subtly tilting my head to the right just as the heavy footfalls of our jailor came stomping back our way.

Stepping into view, the freak was now brandishing a serrated knife big enough to be considered a machete that dripped dark fluid on to the already stained floor. My breath freezing in my throat as he turned in my direction, reaching one of his large hands out and grasping my shirt he pulled me closer and looked my hanging form over.

My heart pounded so loud in my ears that it drowned out everything else. The huge knife coming into view as he brought it toward my face. The thought of that blade taking a chunk of me out like a slab of beef making me sick to my stomach for another reason.

Another moment passed before he growled deeply and let me go, my body swinging back and forth as he moved over to the man he brought in. Examining him before shaking his head and heading over to a different corpse that was wearing a police uniform, raising his blade and jamming it into the torso.

I clenched my eyes and gritted my teeth, the sounds of flesh being torn and blood splashing on to the floor filling the air. The music being played making it all that much more terrifying.

What the fuck was going on?! Why the hell was I here in a human-fucking-slaughter house of all places with a deranged freak of nature hacking people up?! None of it made sense, people just didn't wake up in places like this out of the blue.

This wasn't like my fanfiction stories for Christ sake!

Another loud splatter caused me to open my eyes, nearly losing my stomach in the process when I watched ropes of intestines fall out of the dead cop's hanging lower-half. The butcher dragged the severed upper-half past me and into the room where he flopped it on to the table and began chopping it even more.

I shuddered as I heard the noises, but another set caught my attention. Looking back toward the Detective, I saw him shifting his body and start swinging back and forth on the rope holding him. Putting a finger to his lips, he pointed toward the body to my right where I could see a combat knife sticking out it's chest that I hadn't seen earlier.

Understanding right away, I turned my head and kept a close eye on the butcher while the other man continued to swing. Time ticking slowly as our jailer went about his business. When I heard the sound of flesh being cut, I knew that he had gotten the knife free and looked back toward my fellow captive as he reached up with his newly acquired blade and cut the rope holding him.

He fell to the floor with a thud and a grunt before slowly rolling over and getting to his feet. Holding his side as he shuffled toward me and began to cut my rope as well. "You injured?" he whispered as he looked toward the butcher to be sure he hadn't heard anything.

"Light headed and sick to my stomach, but I'm good." I replied in the same low tone as the rope gave way. My hands shooting out quickly to brace the fall as I landed on the floor, my bad knee hitting the surface a little too hard forcing me to bite my lip to avoid yelping from the pain.

Helping me up, the Detective crouched low and motioned for me to follow him as he headed over toward the door that he must have been brought through a few minutes ago. I managed to follow him despite my leg giving me trouble and the various hanging corpses in the way, bracing against the wall beside the door when I got there and keeping an eye on the butcher as the Detective tried to open it.

"Locked." he said lowly when it wouldn't budge. "There's gotta be keys somewhere around here. See anything?"

My eyes caught sight of a small chain swinging back and forth above the table where our jailer was contently hacking away. The light within the room shining off a small key ring that was attached to it. "Yeah, I got something." I said back.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I began moving along the wall, keeping to the shadows as I peered into the room. The music from the nearby record player masking my movements as the butcher went about his business, tossing a bloody arm into a bin on the right before looking at his work with a growl at the base of his throat before he made his way toward a curtain that led to the back area on the other side opposite of where I was hiding.

My knee ached, but I pushed it aside as I treaded into the room. Doing my best to breath through my mouth as the smell of rot hit me hard while approaching the dangling keyring and reaching for it when I was close enough...

A sudden crash and roar made me jump and drop to the floor behind the table. Breath held in my lungs and sweat dripping from my brow as I heard shuffling from the back room. Peering over the table, I saw no sign of the butcher before looking up at the keys above. Gaze switching between the curtained doorway and the keys several times before I sprung up.

Snatching the ring in my hand and pulling it free from the chain before moving as fast as my stiff/aching legs could go back toward the door where my fellow captive had watched the whole thing.

I handed him the keys and he went back to the door and looked through the keys before finding the one we needed and fitting it into the lock and turning it slowly until we heard the soft click of it disengaging. Grabbing the knob, he twisted it slowly and began pushing it open.

The low groan of the metal door's rusted hinges made us both cringe until it was wide enough for us to slip through into the small corridor that had a flight of stairs that we began creeping up. Keeping low as we reached the upper landing that overlooked the butcher's workspace, no sign of him in sight as we passed over toward the door that led out.

"There's gotta be a way out through here." said the man ahead of me. "We should try to stay as quiet as possible, don't need to be attracting too much-"

He was cut off when his foot tripped on a wire that had been laid across the ground. An alarm shrilled through the air. "Shit." we said at the same time as we heard heavy footsteps behind us as we turned around.

The butcher stood at the top of the stairs, eyes locked on us with a large chainsaw clenched in his hands that he brought to life with a loud roar. The wicked blades spinning in a blur as he raised it in the air and gave a bellowing howl before charging forward.

"RUN!" The Detective shouted as he kicked the door open, both of us taking off down the corridor that was now revealed.

My right knee continued to send jolts of pain through my leg as I pushed it. But it was buried deep thanks to terror and adrenaline as I did my best to keep pace with my companion and avoiding what would definitely be our death if we stopped. The rumbling of the chainsaw echoing loud and clear off the walls as we smashed through another door and entered a wider hallway beyond.

A sudden grunt made me turn back to see the Detective on the ground clutching at his leg. Blood oozing through his fingers from a gash that had been torn open as the butcher turned toward a console on the side and stomping down on something on the floor.

Without warning, a massive iron gate came down from the ceiling and slammed on to the floor sealing our half of the room. Giving me the chance to run back and help him up. "Why the hell would he-" I was cut off when the lights suddenly came on in the corridor.

Revealing sets of massive and bloody blade wheels along either wall. All of them kicking on and spinning as fast as the chainsaw we had just been running from. "YOU'VE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!" I screamed as the whirling blades began to close in on us slowly.

"MOVE! MOVE!" my companion shouted over all the noise. Both of us limping now, but we pushed ourselves as fast as possible toward the far end of the deadly corridor where another door and hopefully our salvation waited.

We barely reached halfway when another gate slammed down. Completely sealing us off from any chance of escape. "NO!" I roared verbally and mentally as I slammed hard into the bars when we reached them, hitting my fists against them in desperation until they hurt and trying to find another way through as the blades continued to close in.

"Over here!" called the Detective as he grabbed the handle of a hatch in the floor and pulled it open. I didn't have to be told anything else and jumped in after him before we were shredded.

Air rushed past me as I slid down the long shaft, the surface slick with blood making me go even faster. My eyes widening when I saw more sets of shredder blades in my path that I was forced to roll out of the way of, smashing through a few broken boards in the path that before the sudden ride came to an abrupt end with me landing in a massive pool at the bottom.

Surfacing quickly, I wiped away whatever was on my face and spitting out the sour taste in my mouth before looking down at where I had landed.

My face paled. Stomach churning when I realized that the pool I had landed in was filled to the brim with blood, bodies and shredded organs. My whole form covered in black and crimson that dripped down thickly back into the pool as I stood in the center of it all.

"...Oh...God..." I said as by body started to shake. There was so much...everywhere, one of the corpses floating past me with half its face torn off, rotten muscle hanging from wide tears like loose strands. The eyes torn from their sockets leaving vacant holes that looked at me as the form floated in the sea of crimson.

My mind was blank, trying to breath but finding it difficult as air came out of me in gasps as I began to panic. A hand on my shoulder nearly made me jump out of my skin as I spun around with my fist raised. "Whoa, easy!" said the Detective holding up his other hand. He too was covered in gore as he gripped my shoulder gently. "Take it easy. Breathe." he instructed as calmly as he could.

His words calmed me slightly before he began guiding me toward the far side of the pool where a ladder was located. I barely remembered going up the steps and getting out of the human soup. But I did remember falling to my hands and knees and retching like it was no one's business.

The contents of my stomach spewing out of me in a violent torrent that didn't want to stop, even minutes later after everything was gone and I was just dry heaving. My vision blurred and my eyes watered, a hand going to my stomach as it sent burning pain through the rest of my insides that made me feel like I was dying.

Taking several deep breaths, I tried to get my head on straight even though my thoughts were all over. Especially after everything that had happened up to this point.

Just what kind of twisted, fucked up place did I wake up in?

X

When I was sure that nothing else would come out of me and regained controlled of my body, I stood up slowly using the wall beside me for support before looking around toward my companion. Who had found a body with clothes close to the only door leading out, tearing off a piece of cloth and making a bandage to wrap around the bleeding cut on his leg.

"You okay?" he asked looking my way when he finished.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and spat off to the side. "Depends on the definition of 'okay'. But I'm alive, guess that counts for something."

The Detective nodded as he stood up himself, "Detective Sebastian Castellanos. Krimson City Police Department." he introduced.

Krimson City? Where in the US is that? I couldn't help but think as I shook myself, deciding to worry about that later. "Adam *******. Freaked out civilian. Any idea where the hell we are?"

Sebastian shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "Not sure. My partners and I were responding to a multiple homicide at Beacon Mental Hospital." he looked back at the shaft we had come out of, "Never saw anything like that before. Looks like we made it into a sewer system."

"As long as we're away from that Leather-face wanna-be up there, I'm happy." I replied before wincing and holding my right knee. All of the running and falls wasn't good for it, and now that the adrenaline had worn off I was feeling it pretty hard now.

I heard the Detective approach and look down at my knee. "Is it bad?" he asked as I adjusted the blood soaked brace so that it was a bit more comfortable.

"Could be worse." I said standing upright as best I could. "Accident a while back. Me and a buddy were driving through town when a drunk driver hit my side. My knee got fucked up as a result and the doctors told me I wouldn't have full functionality of it ever again. Been going to rehab and it's helped, but if I push too hard it hurts like a bitch."

Testing the weight on my leg, I took a few slow steps and managed to stay upright with only a slight ache. I nodded to Sebastian who nodded back before turning toward the door leading out. "We need to move. That freak might still be looking for us, better to put more distance between us and him as possible."

"Sounds like a plan." I replied wiping the left over gore from my arms, shuddering as I did so while he pushed the door open and we stepped out into a corridor that led out to a rounded tunnel with water rushing through it. Sebastian had been right, it was a sewer network.

"How did you end up here?" asked the Detective as we moved along the stone pathway.

"Not sure exactly. I remember waking up in a hospital room somewhere, found the body of a nurse at her station when I tired to find someone a while later before some freak in a white hood and robe attacked me. Bastard moved like a ghost. Next thing I know I'm waking up in a damn human slaughter house." was my reply.

Sebastian regarded me a moment before facing forward again, "Sounds like how I got here. I watched that same guy kill three of my colleagues in cold blood on one of the security monitors. Whatever happened at the hospital, I can't help but think he's somehow involved."

Now it was my turn to look at him, "I take it this kind of thing isn't normal in your line of work?" He shook his head.

"Been on the force a long time, kid. Dealt with a lot of shit. But this? This is something else. Something that doesn't feel right. Like a bad omen." his tone was calm, definitely the sign of a veteran who'd seen a lot of shit in his line of work. "We should stick together here on out, no telling what else we might encounter along the way."

I had to agree with him on that one. There was strength in numbers, and sadly we were in completely uncharted territory from what I was hearing. Sticking together would better our odds encase we ran into more trouble.

The tunnels were quiet, save for the sound of rushing water through the surrounding pipes. Both of us paused when we found another body in a wheelchair in our path. The white scrubs the person had been wearing, despite being covered in grime and dried blood, had the patch for 'Beacon Mental Hospital' still readable.

I shook my head, in the last fifteen minutes alone I'd seen more death and gore than every movie, game and book I've ever read in my life combined. And unlike all of that, this was as real as it gets. I looked down at the garbage at my feet and found a red folder with the same symbol that was on the dead man's scrubs.

Picking it up while Sebastian looked over the body, I found a message scribbled on the cover. But the moment I tried to read it the words suddenly shifted to resemble alphabet soup. "Shit." I muttered, cursing my Dyslexia as I looked toward the Detective. "Hay, I think I found something."

He stood and took the folder from me and read it over with a grim expression. "What does it say?" I asked causing him to look at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Didn't you already read it?" he asked.

I sighed and shook my head, "I'm Dyslexic, can't really decode it without a little help." Sebastian nodded as he read the message out loud;

'Beside the locked gate as the far end of the sewer, there is a ladder which would take you to the old ward. If you could make it through there, you would find an elevator leading outside. You would be the one who escaped. You might be the one who survived. -R'

"Looks like someone's trying to give us a hand." I offered.

"Or lead us into a trap, either way, looks like we've got no other options." said the Detective tossing the folder aside. We heard a familiar chainsaw revving somewhere making us crouch low, the sound rebounding off the stone walls around us making it hard to figure out where it was coming from.

When we were sure that it wasn't anywhere close, we started moving again with a little more haste toward where the message was telling us to go. Which thankfully wasn't far, an open doorway with a small room with the ladder that had been mentioned.

Sebastian went first, having a bit of trouble because of his injured leg but managing as he made it to the upper level and checked before signaling for me to come up. The ladder leading us into a boiler room that attached to the sewers. We went through the only door and down a long corridor with flickering lights and dripping walls, going through another door at the end which took us into what looked like an abandoned examination room.

"So we were beneath the hospital." the Detective said mostly to himself as we stepped over and around discarded medical supplies and overturned cots.

"Then I guess the 'butcher shop' on the lowest level must be a new addition." I couldn't help but comment as we went through the office attached to the exam room. Following the small corridors around until we reached another room with a locked door.

Kneeling down gently, I examined the lock on the old door. "You still got that knife?" I asked looking through the small gap between the door itself and the frame.

"Yeah, why?" asked Sebastian as he looked around for another way out.

"I might be able to get this door open. The deadbolt in here is old and rusted, with the right amount of pressure I could break it." I replied. He reached back and took out the knife he'd been keeping in one of his belt loops, handing it to me handle-first.

Taking the blade, I inserted the tip into the gap and moved it around. Getting it into position and pressing it into the deadbolt keeping it locked before wiggling it back and forth to loosen it.

A loud crash back in the exam room we just came through made us both jump. The rough the dirty and broken windows separating the rooms, the hulking form of the chainsaw wielding maniac who had been chasing us stomped inside.

"Shit!" Sebastian muttered dropping low. "You better work fast."

I doubled my efforts, trying to ignore the revving of the chainsaw as the owner began to search for us. The sound drawing steadily closer as he followed the same path we did when we first got here.

"Almost...got it!" I said twisting the knife to the right until I heard a crunch and a click before pulling the door open just as the butcher came crashing through the door into the office. The Detective and I bolted through the door the moment it was open, slamming it behind us while Sebastian grabbed a nearby set of lockers and through it down to block the way.

"We gotta move! That won't last long!" As if to prove his point, the whirling blade of the chainsaw pierced through the metal door. Sparks and small slivers of metal flying through the air as the maniac on the other side began to cut his way through it.

Neither of us wanted to stick around to greet the one who was 'knocking' and made a run for it. Going through the larger examination room as fast as we could and shoving our way through the door at the other end just as we heard the door back behind us crash open.

We didn't bother to look back, just kept pushing forward. Even though my leg screamed at me to take it easy, the fear of dying horribly was far stronger as I shoved my way through a second door right behind Sebastian as we made our way through the hallway ahead which had a bunch of wheelchairs and stretchers scattered everywhere.

Behind us, the maniac came bashing through the door, chainsaw raised with a bellowing roar as he came after us.

Shoving wheelchairs behind me in a vain attempt to slow him down, my right leg buckling from all of the exertion as I pushed myself harder than I ever had before, I could vaguely see a light at the end of the hall. A small iron gate opening like a beacon of hope revealing an elevator that would take us out of this nightmare.

Sebastian was still ahead of me, flopping over a stretcher he couldn't get around and attempting to stand. But his wounded leg made it difficult. I reached him a moment later, flipping the stretcher on it's side before helping him up. The two of us using the other for support as the butcher began to close in. The smell of rotten blood and gasoline filling my nose as he closed the gap quickly.

My heart pounded in my ears. Adrenaline and fear filling every fiber of my being as I pushed harder and harder to make it to the elevator with my companion. The loud grunts of the one chasing us getting louder and louder along with his deadly weapon.

Every part of my mind screaming in prayer that we would make it in time.

Throwing ourselves through the opening, I flipped over and nearly felt my heart stop as I watched the maniac closing in. His chainsaw raised high and revving louder than anything I've ever heard in my life as he sprinted.

We were cornered. Nowhere left to run and with death barreling at us like an unstoppable force.

I pressed myself to the back wall, clenching my eyes shut and raising my arms in a pathetic attempt of a defense. My last thought being of my girlfriend, our daughter and how much I loved them as I heard the chainsaw coming down...

**A/N...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

_**...Error...Connection with user lost...Please try again later...**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

_**...Error...Connection with user lost...Please try again later...**_

The piercing screech of metal on metal made me open my eyes. Relief flooding my system when I saw that the chainsaw wielding freak was attempting to cut through the iron gate of the elevator that had slammed shut before he had a chance to get at me and Sebastian.

A growling roar ripping from the maniac's metal covered mouth echoing through the halls as the lift began to rise while he continued to try and slice through the bars with his tool, sending sparks bouncing off the walls before he slipped out of sight.

My head gently banged off the wall behind me taking slow, deep breaths to calm my racing heart. My limbs feeling like rubber as the built up adrenaline bled out of me and I slumped on the floor.

To my right, Sebastian went through his pockets, pulling out a pack of smokes and crushing it when he saw the small box empty. "Well...that was something." he muttered leaning back against the wall himself. Spitting to the side a moment later.

I nodded in silent agreement. Wincing when I felt aftershocks of pain shooting up from my right knee. "Fuck..." I hissed as I bent the limb up and down slowly to try and relieve some of the ache. My brace was still wet from the gore pool we'd fallen in and my emergency pain meds weren't on me so I was shit out of luck for the time being.

Laying my leg out straight, I went to wipe some of the already drying blood that was caked on my arms when I saw that I still had the combat knife clenched tightly in my hand. "Here, think this is yours." I said handing it to the Detective who took it and slipped it back in his belt loop before turning back to me.

"How's the leg?" he asked motioning to my bad leg.

"Feels like someone's trying to rip it open with the jaws of life." I replied shifting the limb around a bit. The lift continued to rise for several minutes before finally coming to a stop at the end of the hallway for the mental hospital.

Trying to stand, I almost fell back down when my leg gave out from under me. Sebastian acted fast and caught me before I hit the floor. "You won't make it out of here like that." he said slinging my arm over his shoulder, taking as much weight as possible off my bad leg and helping me out of the elevator.

"What about yours?" I asked referring to his wound.

"Barely feel it anymore. Good thing the bastard only grazed me." said the Detective as we made out way down the hall. Passing the bodies of three dead police officers who all looked like they had their throats slit, laying face-down in pools of their own blood that we did our best to avoid.

The light from the windows was still blocked by the clouds in the sky. The rain may have stopped, but the atmosphere still clung heavily as we headed to what I had hoped was the way out.

A quake suddenly shook the ground we were standing on, the entire hospital rattling on its foundation and almost making the two of us lose our balance. "What the fuck was that? An earthquake?" I asked as the building shook again.

"Not sure, but we better get out of here." Sebastian replied as he kicked the door open in front of us that led out to the lobby. Barely having a moment to see the corpses of doctors, nurses and patients alike as he all but dragged me toward the double doors on the right and stepped outside. Being blinded by the light for a moment...

...

...The sight before us was too shocking to look away from.

All around us, the city that housed the hospital was crumbling. Buildings toppled over, fires raged out of control, and large fissures tore open the ground causing anything surrounding them to collapse into them.

Our stupor was broken by the sound of screeching tires. A nearby ambulance came toward us going backwards. Smashing an abandoned police cruiser out of the way before stopping at the bottom of the steps we were on.

"Detective!" Shouted an officer who was behind the wheel over the loud speakers. "Get in! Get in!"

The windows of the hospital shattered sending glass raining down on us as we headed to the transport as quickly as possible. The door on the side swung open revealing a woman with brown hair in a white blouse, black jeans and heeled shoes wearing a Detective shield like Sebastian. "Come on!" she shouted as the older Detective passed me off to her as she pulled me inside while he jumped into the passenger seat.

The ground shook wildly outside, the ambulance listing back as a fissure opened up behind us. But the cop at the wheel was faster, cranking the shifter and gunning. Being thrown to the floor from the sudden jolts as we made our escape, I managed to stagger to my feet and flop down on the bench next to the female Detective and grab on to the supports to keep from falling off again.

Across from me. I saw a man in a doctor's coat trying to console a kid who was acting hysterically. Judging by the undone straight jacket with the hospital's logo, and his pale and frantic features, he must have been a patient at the facility.

"Where's Joseph?" I heard Sebastian from up front.

"Man, I'm sorry but he never came out." said the officer frantically as he drove us down the road. "I'da waited but..."

The doctor in our compartment kept doing his best to console the patient, but nothing seemed to be working. "Please settle down, Leslie..." he said trying to offer comfort.

"...settle down Leslie..." the patient said and repeated over and over in softer tones. Looking out the back windows, I felt my stomach drop when I saw the road behind us tear upward before collapsing back into the Earth.

"PUNCH IT! WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF ROAD BACK HERE!" I shouted toward the front.

"Shit! There's no going back!" the cop said looking in the rear-view as he pressed the accelerator harder. A falling building came down making the ambulance jerk upward from the rear before crashing back down on all four wheels again. The four of us in the back were jerked and thrown around as the driver spun the wheel and avoided various things in our path or ones that were falling toward us.

My shoulder slammed into the side of the compartment hard making me cry out. A pair of thin arms grabbed me and got me back into a seat as things seemed to calm down.

"You good?" asked the female Detective. I nodded as I rubbed my arm. Nothing was broken, but I'd definitely be feeling that later. My leg was still sore as well, but had started to dull a bit since the hospital.

Everything lapsed into a small silence after a while. The patient, Leslie, started humming to himself filling the void while the sounds of Sebastian trying to reach people on the radio could be heard up front.

As for me, I took the time to remove my knee brace and look it over for damage. Some of the support bars build into the strong fabric were a bit warped, and it was still a bit damp with dried blood, but otherwise it was in good shape.

After bending the bars back to their original shape, I dug a couple of ace bandages from a still stocked cabinet and wrapped them around my knee before slipping the brace back on. A trick I learned from one of the older guys back in my rehabilitation class, the added support would take the pressure off my knee and cushion it better as I moved.

"Old injury?" I looked up to see the female Detective looking back at me.

"Yeah," I nodded while finishing up. "Car accident almost a year back. Messed up beyond repair, all that running didn't to it any favors either."

She nodded before holding out her hand, "Juli Kidman. Junior Detective for the KCPD." she introduced.

"Adam *******." I replied shaking her hand.

"...Adam...Adam..." My gaze turned toward Leslie who was now looking at me and repeating my name. I felt a slight cold chill go through me when his eyes locked on to mine.

Personally, I didn't have an issue with folks like Leslie. They're just people that need special treatment for what ailes them. But something about the way he was looking at me made me uneasy. I didn't know if it was because of what's happened in the last hour or so, or my natural paranoia, but either way I was weary.

"Dammit, are we cut off from everyone?" Sebastian said upfront.

"Everyone must be dead..." said the officer making the Detective look at him a moment before turning toward the window into the back.

"Everyone all right back there?"

"Just a few bumps, we're fine." said Kidman as Leslie started speaking again.

"...fine...fine...fine...fine...fine." the doctor helping him looked at Sebastian. "We will be once we're far away..."

I went to say something when I felt cold envelope me. My heart started racing and the world around me took on a strange blue/white tint. Turning slowly, I could almost feel the blood freeze in my veins when I saw someone standing in the corner. Watching us like the Grim Reaper.

It was Ruvik...his form exactly the way it was from our first encounter only without the blood. His soulless eyes were locked on to the doctor and Leslie before he slowly turned his head and looked straight into me.

Overcoming the fear, I opened my mouth to warn the others when his hand suddenly snapped up. A choking gasp coming out of me as an invisible force began crushing my throat. My hands snapped up out of instinct but found nothing as it became harder and harder to breath.

"Adam?! Adam what's wrong?!" Kidman exclaimed as I fell back grasping at my neck. Gagging, I tried to point at Ruvik, but the pressure increased making me see spots. The lack of air making me lightheaded as everything started fading around the edges of my vision.

From his unseen spot, Ruvik held up the pointer finger on his other hand and waved it slowly back an forth while shaking his head.

He disappeared in a puff of ashes and the force crushing the life out of me faded as well, allowing me to take heaving gasps of air while slumping down on the bench. Everyone was looking at me worried wile Leslie acted as though nothing happened, focusing within his own world.

"...f-fine...fine...fall...fall!" he screamed as the ambulance swerved left and right before hitting the wall of the tunnel we had been driving through. The impact jostling us around, but Kidman managed to get to the window at the front.

"Look out! she exclaimed as the ambulance lost control and flew out of the tunnel...

...and into open air.

Leslie's voice continued to echo as the feeling of weightlessness overtook the vehicle as it began free-falling, "Fall...fall...fall!...FALL!" There was a loud crash, and everything went black.

X

_..._

..._I was weightless...floating in a void of darkness that felt as empty as it was vast..._

_ Time meant nothing in this place. And the only companion was the many shadows around me._

_ "Are you sure there's nothing that can be done?" asked a voice that was filled with tears. A voice that sounded familiar to me._

_ Mom? I wondered in the darkness._

_ "I'm sorry. But the damage was far more extensive than we first believed." said another voice. "And with the time that has already lapsed, further surgeries would do more harm than good."_

_ "This...This will crush him. He's lost so much already...how can we tell him that he'll never be able to walk without help ever again?" said a third voice that I knew all too well as Meghan's. "What do we do?"_

_ I heard my mother sigh, "Tell him the truth...and be there for him when he needs us the most."_

_ The darkness suddenly flashed red, a loud noise I couldn't describe pierced my subconscious as things began to fade into focus showing a ceiling with small florescent lights. The piercing noise giving away to the sound of a heart rate monitor and the squeak of small metal wheels rolling as I felt myself moving down a hallway._

_ I couldn't move my arms and legs, rolling my head from one side to another I saw that was restrained to a gurney that was being pushed by a doctor and a nurse. "Where...Where am I?" I asked them only for them to say nothing._

_ Struggling against my bonds I tried again. "Where are you taking me? What happened to the others?" Again I was answered with silence before being pushed through a set of double doors and wheeled into the center of an examination room._

_ My attempts at getting free doubled as several doctors surrounded me on all sides. "Is he ready?" asked one of them getting a wave of acknowledgements. "Very well, let's begin." I saw him pick up a large instrument that looked like some cross between a syringe and a drill and pointed it at my forehead._

_ "W-Wait a minute! What the fuck are you going to do with that?!" I shouted while trying to break free. The tool gave off a loud noise as the tip began to spin fast. "No! NO! GET THAT AWAY FROM ME! GET ME THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!" I kept screaming, trying to break my bonds with everything I had._

_ Right up till I felt the instrument pierce my forehead..._

X

_My eyes snapped open, looking around the room I was in frantically as I came back to my senses._

_ I wasn't in the examination room...I was in the living room of the house I shared with Meghan and Annie._

_ Sitting up, I winced when my whole body ached in protest. Feeling like I'd been run over by several trucks as I turned to the side and set my feet on the carpeted floor. "What the hell..." I wondered, rubbing my forehead and looking around a second time. "Am I going crazy?"_

_ "Not quite, but you're getting there I'm afraid." _

_ I snapped my head up and looked toward the darkened hallway that led to the bedrooms and bathroom. A shadowed figure stood just out of sight and was looking in my direction._

_ "Who the hell are you?" I snapped while slowly standing up. "Where's my girlfriend and my daughter?! What have you done with them?!" _

_ The figure shook their head. "Nothing. But that doesn't matter at this point in time."_

_ "What do you mean?" I asked not letting my guard down._

_ "You're not home, Adam." said the figure bluntly before motioning to everything around us. "This is just a manifestation of one of your memories. Kind of like a 'safe house' to protect your mind from what's been happening out there."_

_ The answers stunned me a moment. "Just what the fuck is going on? How do you know my name? And just what the hell did I just go through back there?" _

_ There was silence, the figure shifted a bit as if contemplating how to answer. "I can't fully explain it to you right now. You mind might not be able to handle it all at once. But I can tell you that you're in terrible danger, and even the slightest slip up will result in your death."_

_ They pointed at the coffee table that was in front of the couch and I looked down to see a square piece of paper the size of a napkin laying facedown on it. "That, should help you through the hardest parts...mentally anyway. The rest will take sheer willpower to overcome." the figure explained._

_ I felt a headache start to form and shook it off as I picked the paper up, "And what are you? How do you fit into all this?" I asked not taking my eyes off the figure._

_ "...Let's just say that we know each other _very_ well. And I'm here to help you survive what is coming." they turned toward the front door of the house as white light started glowing around the edges. "Time's up. Remember what I said, and keep that with you at all times." they said pointing at the paper in my hand._

_ The door was flung open bathing the whole room in white light. I covered my eyes as I felt weightless again, the light enveloping me as I blacked out again._

X Normal POV X

_ When the light faded and the door closed, Adam had vanished leaving the lone figure by themselves._

_ Sighing, they didn't respond as two other figures appeared behind them. "You sure it was a good idea not telling him everything?" asked one of the two. "With what's happening out there, he's going to need all the help he can get and then some."_

_ The other figure leaned against the closest wall and crossed their arms, "His mind's already in chaos. You wanna risk breaking it? He needs to focus on surviving. And besides, we all know how he thinks. He'll make it through this."_

_ "Let's hope so." said the first figure garnering the attention of the other two. "Because if he dies...we die with him. And so do countless others." they turned to their companions. "If we're lucky, he'll hold on to what we gave him and the meaning behind it."_

_ "It's really the only thing that will see him through this nightmare to the end."_

**A/N...**

**...**

**...**

**...**

_**...Error...Connection with user lost...Please try again later...**_


End file.
